All Just A Dream
by buttercupbella
Summary: Because it was all just a dream, a blur that came to him.


**All Just A Dream**

_buttercupbella_

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><p>The chill of the night breeze, for the first time, crept up to Naruto's firm skin.<p>

He looked up to the distant stars sadly, a lonely tear trickling down his cheek.

_Why do you still keep on shining when you already sense that I'm hurt?_

He was hurt in every possible way; his body exhausted and abused after failures in finding Sasuke, his mind blown up by his impossible but not empty promises, his heart shattered into millions of pieces when he knows he never had a chance of letting Sakura see that he was right beside her.

But why is it that even when he's hurt, he's still determined to make things right, maybe not for him, but for others?

And yet they label him as a monstrous and ferocious creature.

Naruto sniffed and wiped his tears with his orange sleeves. With still a broken heart to cure, he plunged into the darkness and scaled one branch after the other.

He arrived dumbfounded at Sakura's windowsill, expecting a silent and peaceful bedroom.

But there she was; in the same state that he was in. She was weeping while clasping her shivering hands around a picture.

Which is to say, Sasuke's childhood picture.

Sakura gasped for air and wept to herself, remembering the first time she fell in love with the raven-haired lad. And she remembered that the raven-haired lad with whom she fell in love with was never going to come home.

Naruto's heart ached at the sight of the girl weeping, seeing that even though Sasuke never reciprocated Sakura's love for him, she wouldn't change.

And Naruto was the same, never giving up despite the fact that he'll never be loved back.

He touched the glass and let his fingers slide over, knowing that he'll never have the courage to get in. He'll never be allowed to.

Naruto was contented with being Sakura's crying shoulder, with having the ability to comfort her and reassure her that he was going to get Sasuke back, no matter what the cost.

What puzzled Naruto was, why can't Sakura just give up? That way, Naruto can be next in line and everybody'll get a fair share of their deserved happiness.

_That can't be,_ the words tasted bitter in Naruto's tongue. It was never meant to be.

Maybe, he should just be the one to give up on loving Sakura. Maybe, they were never meant to be after all.

And so he left with a resolute decision, casting an unmistakable shadow along Sakura's windowpane.

Sakura's heart fluttered and the photograph that she was holding slipped out of her hands. Along with it, a piece of paper floated in the air, and cascaded slowly onto the floor. She ran to the window, opened it, and looked; just to arrive to the dead silence of the melancholic evening.

It was a sheet of paper which contained just a few, simple words.

A few, simple words that could turn the tides around in a great manner.

_I don't want to lie to myself anymore. I don't want to wait for Sasuke, after all._

_I want to wait for the time when I'll have the courage to tell you I love you, Naruto-kun._

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><p>.<p>

Naruto's cheery blond hair remained the same even after ten years, his similarly cheery disposition remaining to enchant everyone.

He was unnaturally happy today, cherishing the face of his beloved wife as they enjoyed at the reception after their grand wedding.

It was Hinata.

She was beautiful in every single way, her face glowing, and her curled hair looking majestic above her pearl-white dress that went farther than her feet.

Naruto kissed her forehead and sighed. After ten years, he had managed to let Sakura go and eliminate all his pain and angst inside.

It felt like heavenly bliss.

Hinata smiled and raised her wine glass to initiate a toast, her glee radiating through the atmosphere. Naruto did the same and grinned excitedly.

|one week after|

"Naruto, can you carry this to the attic? It's so dusty and it seems very old," Hinata said, eyeing the brown boxes on the porch of their new house situated along the sea.

Naruto arrived and nodded eagerly. "Yes, hon!" He squeezed Hinata's cheeks and caused her to blush fiercely.

Quickly, Naruto picked the boxes up with ease, wheezing a little because of the allergens. Then he noticed a beige piece of paper landing on the edge of the doorway.

Out of curiosity, he put the boxes down, and picked the paper up. He squinted and noticed that it must be from a long time ago.

The moment he opened the folded paper, his eyes grew wide, and he shouted, "Hinata! I have to go! I'll be back in a minute!"

Not waiting for a reply, he sped down the road towards the cemetery.

_Dear Naruto-kun,_

Naruto panted and felt hot tears welling up in his eyelids.

_Maybe you're surprised that I'm addressing you as Naruto-kun, am I right?_

"Of course I'm surprised!," Naruto screeched to himself while running. "Who isn't?"

_I'm sorry that I have caused you to cry every night._

Naruto growled. "You knew, damn it!"

_I'm sorry that I made you suffer from that promise you made._

"It wasn't just for you, I wanted to get Sasuke back for the rest of us!"

_I'm sorry that I always degraded you and ignored your actions towards me._

"Of course you should be sorry, Sakura-chan!"

_Maybe it's too late to say sorry, but I hope you can forgive me._

"You make it sound like ten years is not too late!"

_I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun…I should've told you a little sooner._

_I-I love you, Naruto-kun._

Love?

Naruto stopped in his tracks and reread the lines all over again, hoping that his eyes weren't tricking him. _She…loved me?_

After all these years, why in the world did he only receive this? Why?

_Naruto-kun, I'm on the trail of Sasuke right now. I hope I can bring him back so you won't have to fulfill your promise anymore._

_If anything happens to me…or in case you don't read this letter, I hope all of your hurt will be gone and that you'll lead a happy life without thinking about how I caused your memories to be so painful and heart-breaking. But no matter what happens, I'll repeat it: I love you, and even if I was condemned to repeat it forever, I'd be glad to do so. I don't want to lie to myself anymore. I don't want to wait for Sasuke-kun, after all._

_I want to wait for the time when I'll have the courage to tell you I love you face-to-face, Naruto-kun. But it seems as if it'll never happen._

_Don't worry. I know you could find a lot of girls out there that are more deserving than me. I wish you the best._

_Love,_

_Your Sakura-chan_

Naruto staggered forward and couldn't help it; he was sobbing into his palms, pouring every bit of regret he had for giving up on Sakura, just when she had loved him back for the first time.

And, to add to the venom of his regret, he had ended up exactly in front of Sakura's tombstone.

Naruto arrived at the Hokage's office and glared at his chair, kicking all of his documents and smashing picture frames down the floorboards and gritting his teeth in anger.

Standing from his behind was Shikamaru, folding his arms while whistling. "What the hell is wrong with our Hokage?"

"Everything's wrong!," Naruto practically bellowed. "Why didn't anyone even tell me?"

"Calm down, Naruto," Sai said. "Anyone didn't tell you about…?"

"About Sakura!," he shot back. "She died without me knowing!"

Sai and Shikamaru looked at each other guiltily and hung their heads low in shame. "Tsunade-sama thought-"

"She _thought_," Naruto sputtered bitterly, pounding his fists on the table. "For Kami-sama's sake, she thought! And I only knew after ten years? How come I never knew? Sasuke did this! That bastard, I'll come get him-"

"He's dead too, Naruto," Sai explained carefully. "He has grown weak. And Sakura…there's nothing we can do now-"

"_Nothing_? How come I couldn't do anything for the girl I love?"

The noises immediately dispersed, because Naruto must've noticed that he said 'love', not 'loved'. He turned his head to see a woman in front of him.

Hinata, sweating all over, stopped breathing, crying while smiling apologetically at Naruto. "S-sorry…I should've known…"

Naruto neared her and embraced her tightly. "I'm sorry…it's just that I'm mad no one has even told me about this."

"No, you don't have to be sorry, Naruto," Hinata said, wriggling away from him and pulling her diamond ring from her finger. She put it in his palm and beamed shyly. "I don't deserve this."

"What? No, I didn't mean it that-"

Hinata put his finger to his lips and exhaled sadly. "I'm not the one you love. I'll try to find someone who can love me, other than you, Naruto."

So she left, and not as a married lady.

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><p>.<p>

Kneeling on the soil, Naruto placed the fresh peonies on Sakura's grave. He closed his eyes and wondered about what could have been if only he had read the letter years ago.

He could've saved her, could've rescued her and Sasuke.

He could've married her, watching as she walked down the aisle in an elegant gown, with flowers in her hand.

He could've had children, watching them grow as they both grew old.

He could've died with her, knowing that he was where he should be and he was with the one he was supposed to be with.

But, no, those what-if's were never real, were all just a dream that came to him in a blur, a second too late.

And so he grew old by her grave, imagining endless possibilities of an eternity with her, withering as time flew by.

Soon, he died, too, and we'll never know if Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura ever met again in a parallel world, spending forever thinking about what could've been if both of them had realized that they loved each other from the very start.

Because it was all just a dream, a blur that came to him…

.

Naruto woke up, his head feeling queasy after that terrible nightmare. He found himself under warm covers, beside a pink-haired girl who was sleeping just as soundly as him. He remembered last night, when he was looking in from her window. He must've drifted off.

Happily, Naruto grasped the girl's waist, cuddling her and making another promise- this time, he was sure that he could do it for a lifetime.

He promised to himself, silently, that he would never _ever_ give up on loving Sakura.

.

**owari**

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><p><strong>|Author's Note| <strong>This is rushed, but yes, I intended it to be short and fast-paced. Concrits are deeply appreciated.


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